Is my sensor dirty?

[tommykjensen]

It looks like the sensor on my 20D is dirty :(

I shot 4 photos with 4 different lenses and they all have the same spots on the same positions like on this example.

Full sample (http://photo.klein-jensen.dk/public/dirtysensor.jpg)


So it looks like I will send it back for cleaning ( I know it is possible to do it yourself but I would rather have it done under warranty).

[Belmondo]

Tommy:
Have you tried blowing the dust off the sensor yet? It doesn't seem like you have a big enough problem to warrant sending it in for cleaning.

[tommykjensen]

I don't have a blower so I havn't tried that. I talked to my local shop and they will call Canon and ask what will be the best action. With a camera this expensive I won't take any risks of making the problem worse. Yes it will be annoying to be out of the camera for a week or so but I would rather do that than risk breaking it.

[Chris1le]

It really does not look that dirty. Try getting a bulb blower. As far as sending it to Canon here are my thoughts. I've seen some posts where others have sent their camera to Canon for cleaning and it has actually come back dirtier. It's like this. I imagine they are cleaning many cameras a day. I'm sure they blow of the sensor, wipe back and forth with a sensor swab then on to the next one. I may be wrong and I'm sure someone will correct me if I am. I was a little nervous about cleaning it myself but after the first couple of times it is really not that big of a deal. The sensor is not as fragile as we first tend to believe. :wink:
Also, if that small amount of dust bothers you, your camera will be spending more time at Canon than it will in your hands.

[tommykjensen]

What annoys me is that the sensor is more dirty than the sensor on my 1 year old 300D !

I am not sure if we can compare service from Canon USA with service from Canon in Denmark simply because in USA they will be dealing with and cleaning many more cameras then in Denmark. Well at least thats my theory :wink:

[EXA1a]

The bunnies become much clearer and more obvious when you shoot with the smallest possible aperture (f22 or f32) and the longest focal length with the shortest manual focus distance. You will be amazed what will come up!

--Jens--

[OviV]

I get stuff on my sensor all the time. I have yet to need to do anything other then blowing it off with blower bulb. If you change lenses a lot this will happen again. Sending it in everytime can be a real pain so you are better off getting used to the idea of doing it yourself. Some things that have worked for me are:

1) Change lenses with the camera off.

2) Keep the lens mount pointed downwards when changing lenses.

3) Verify that lens mount on lens is clean before mounting it on camera.

Ovi

[tommykjensen]

Well my point is this, the sensor on my 20D is more dirty after 2 weeks than the sensor on my 1 year old 300D and I have changed lenses many times on the 300D without getting the amount of dust/dirt on the sensor as the 20D has.

And I don't plan on sending it in to get cleaned every month or so. I just want it cleaned to an acceptable level and then I will probably not have to clean it again for a long while.

I always take care when changing lens so I don't expect a lot of dust that way.

[dsze]

My 10D came to me brand new, much dirtier than your 20D. I cleaned it myself the first day I had it. Cleaning it is not a real big deal. Don't be scared of it. I've cleaned my 10D and my prior 300D many, many times. No problems, very little cost and never out of a camera because Canon has it. I've also read lots of posts about people getting their camera's back dirtier than they sent them in.

-daniel

[Cobra351]

For what it's worth I had my 300d for about four weeks or so and noticed a dot like on your picture. I did a lot of frantic researching and found the bulb blower idea. I followed the procedure in the camera manual and opened the sensor (well, put it into the sensor clean mode) and sure enough I saw the little piece of dust. It took a few puffs of air from the bulb but it came right out. Oh, I found it's true, when you do this be sure to turn the camera body upside down. This way the dust falls out instead of back inside.

I'm glad this happened early, I'm totally at ease now in cleaning it when needed. Hope this helps.

[tommykjensen]

I know it sounds easy to do this but it happens to be so fortunate that here in Denmark we have a Canon service center where we can walk in and get it cleaned for no cost and I will have my camera with me when I leave again. So including transport it will probably cost me 1,5 hour to get it cleaned by authorized personel and I don't run a risk of breaking anything myself.